Communities of the Inland Northwest

About this collection

Photographs in this digital collection reveal the growth of communities throughout the Inland Northwest, including Spokane, Pullman and other towns throughout Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. Images reveal street views and buildings, but also show people and work and at play in these Inland Empire communities.

The economic base for much of the Inland Northwest is agriculture. Dry-land farming was, and remains, the primary enterprise on large tracts of the region. Forestry was important in north-eastern Washington and north Idaho, though it has become a smaller part of the economic picture over the past twenty years. Mining, once a vital component in the region, has been reduced to a few locations in northeastern Washington, Idaho, and southern British Columbia. The photographic collections held by Eastern Washington University mostly document life in agricultural communities in the Inland Northwest, with lesser coverage of forestry, mining, transportation, and governmental employment.

Photographs for this digital collection come from the EWU Photo Collection and numerous collections of personal papers. The format, date and source of the original image is described for each image by clicking on the title or image.